Leeds defender with deal on the table has ‘agreement’ with Turkish giants
Rumours are growing that Leeds United star Ezgjan Alioski could be heading to Turkish club Galatasaray at the end of the season.
The 28-year-old has been at Elland Road since July 2017 and made 142 league appearances. The North Macedonia international played his part as Marcelo Bielsa’s men gained promotion to the Premier League.
He has made 14 top-flight starts among 17 outings with the Peacocks now back in the big time. But his contract is due to expire in the summer and it seems as though he will not be signing an extension.
He was said to be offered a fresh long-term deal last November. It was hoped that the versatile left-sided player would put pen to paper before the turn of the year.
However, he has yet to sign and multiple reports link him with a move to Turkey. Turkish outlet Fotospor are suggesting that Alioski ‘has not agreed’ a renewal with the Whites.
They add it is ‘because he had reached a principle agreement with Galatasaray’. Ekipa report that Leeds are ‘still calculating over the extension of his contract’.
They go on to say that ‘if the Premier League side does not offer him one soon, then Galatasaray want to use the whole situation and bring him to their ranks for no money’.
That would suggest a summer move and free transfer for the experienced defender. Leeds have been linked with a summer bid for Marseille’s 26-year-old left-back Jordan Amavi.
His arrival would make sense if Alioski were to leave in June this year.
Bielsa concerned despite Magpies scalp
Leeds got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United on Tuesday night. It left then 12th in the standings with 26 points from 19 games played.
Alioski started on the left of a back four before giving way to Mateusz Klich on 56 minutes. And it was the defensive aspect of Leeds’ performance that gave the Argentinian coach the most concern.
When asked if Leeds had improved at defending set pieces, Bielsa replied: “You know there wasn’t an improvement on this. Because they don’t score doesn’t mean we are defending them better.
“There will be a solution to this problem when we don’t concede chances from corners. Difficult for me to say exactly what I think.
“Though we did defend some set-pieces better, we should have done better with others.”
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